Canberra’s Laura Peel has been named one of Australia’s flag bearers at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony alongside Brendan Kerry.
The team announcement was made on Thursday afternoon, a day out from the opening ceremony in Beijing. It will be first time that Australia has had two flag bearers at a Winter Games.
Peel is the second Canberran to hold the flag at an Olympic opening ceremony in under a year after Boomers superstar Patty Mills lead the Australian team at the Tokyo Games last July.
Two-time world champion Peel, 32, emphatically won her most recent World Cup round last month to confirm she is Australia’s top gold medal hope at the Beijing Games.
“It’s really hard to put into words how it feels to be selected as flag bearer for this incredible team,” Peel said.
“It’s such an honour and I’m truly grateful and so humbled to be able to lead the team into Opening Ceremony. Honestly, it feels like a dream.
“This honour definitely goes to the top of the list.
“Australia has such a rich history in aerial skiing, I’m so grateful to the athletes who came before me, like Alisa Camplin, Jacqui Cooper, Lydia Lassila, David Morris, they paved the way for us in our sport.”
Kerry is the first figure skater to be given the honour and said he was “absolutely speechless” when team chef de mission Geoff Lipshut told he would be one of the flag bearers and initially thought it was bad news.
“It was the biggest shock and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I am honoured. I honestly thought he was calling me because there was a big problem,” Kerry said.
“To be a flag bearer, now cast with that select group of winter athletes before me, is amazing. I look at it as reflecting all the work, all the struggles – I see it as the acknowledgement of my peers and my country.
“I have been so fortunate in my sport, competing against the best in the world overseas. I now get to share that knowledge and experience with the up and coming athletes back home.
“I’d like to think that I am paving the way for a new generation.”
Kerry, 27, is an eight-time national figure skating champion and will compete again in the single competition at the Olympics.
With AAP
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